Family

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What was Murdock's definition of the family?

He defined it as a: Mum, Dad and two children. 

There is no consensus on what the family is.

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Murdock

Studied the family in 250 societies.

He found four functions:

  • Sexual Function- Limits the family to monogamous relationships and prevents anomie.
  • Reproductive function- Survival of society.
  • Economic function- Provides food and shelter.
  • Educational function- Provides a safe environment for the process of socialisation.
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Talcott Parsons-

"Two basic and irreducible functions."

1. Primary socialisation- helps internalise the norms and values of society.

2. Stabalisation of Adult Personalities- In Western society, there is the emergence of the isolated nuclear family. Provides an environment to let off steam and act childish.

Changing Family Structure- "Fit Theory." "Warm Bath Theory."

The family has changed from the extended family to the nuclear family. This is because of two reasons:

1. Needs to be more geographically mobile and 'streamlined.'

2. Needs to deflate the status between the generations as having higher achieved status may cause conflict.

Structural Differentiation

Nuclear family has lost some functions, therefore loosing slef sufficency. 

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Criticisms of Functionalism

  • Some societies do not have traditional families.
  • Ignores dark side of the family.
  • Feminists argue men benefit more.
  • Females are exploited as a part of their role of being the 'homemaker.'
  • The nuclear family is not dominant everywhere.
  • Rapoports argue that the functionalist view ignores the diversity of family types.
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Engels

the family developed so that men could be certain of their paternity of children, therefore marriage allowed them to controll there women's sexuality. This made them more confident that there were passing down their property to their real offspring.

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Zaretsky

The family is a "prop" to capitalism.

The housewife supports the future generations of housewives at no cost to the bourgeoisie.

The family is a consumer unit in a world based on material items.

Provides comfort to the current workers from an alientating workforce.

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Criticisms of Marxism

  • Exaggerates the extent to which the family can be an escape from capitalist exploitation.
  • Post modernists would argue that it ignore family diversity.
  • Marxists are deterministic.
  • Vague concepts or predictions.
  • Some beneficial functions of society. For example, economic function!
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Althusser

Ideological state apparatus/ Repressive state apparatus.

REF : London Riots 2010/2011

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David Cooper

Sees the family as an 'ideological conditioning device.'

This is where the future generations of workers internalise the norms and values of the dominant ideology. This makes them easy to exploit and cooperative.

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Frans Ansley

"Takers of sh*t"

Wives suffer as a result of their alientation and suffering at work.

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Benston

Wives are used to created cheap labour and rear the cheap labour. The childcare thet provide is unpaid and they help maintain there husbands.

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Sommerville

Women are still disadvantaged ,but things are getting better.

  • Females can choose whether or not they marry.
  • Females still value relationship.
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Germain Geer

Females still remain subservient to their husbands. 

Single women are generally happier which is shown by the divorce rates.

More likely to suffer from physical or sexual abuse.

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Criticisms of feminism- liberal, marxist and radic

Exaggerating the exploitation of females.

Fails to acknowledge the increasing equality.

Ignore different ethnicity of females.

Men can be victims of domestic violence.

Fails to acknowledge the positive functions of the family I.e. FUNCTIONALISM. 

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Nicholson

Females are better outside of traditional families, however all types of family should be accepted.

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Calhoun

Females cannot be exploited by men in Lesbian families.

Increasing choice in family life.

Lesbian and Gay Families are called 'Chosen Families.'

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Abbott and Wallace

Some of the New Right policies have encouraged people to live outside the traditional family.

For example, divorce laws were made easier.

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Morgan

The nuclear family is in decline. 

There were less LPF in 1996 than in 2006.

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Criticism of the New Right

Rapoports- increasing family diversity is a good thing.

New Right thinkers exaggerate how much the family has changed.

Increase in divorce is beneficial to females who want to escape an abusive relationship.

Postmodernists see the decline in the Nuclear famiy as a response to a post modern society.

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Criticisms of Parsons Industrialisation theory

Research suggests the extended family still exists in London East End.

Assumed that the extend family used to be around.

Laslett- C+E- The nuclear family caused industrialisation to develop.

F,M,PMs

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Willmott and Young

Society has been through three stages:

1. Pre industrial- Parents and children forming the core.

2. The early industrial family-Early industrial family extended its network to include other kin. Strong bond between M and their D.

3. !970s- The nuclear family became dominant. There was a conjugal bond between husband and wife. External relatives lost importance. W+Y saw this as the symmetrical family. 

It developed because:

  • fewer children per family.
  • increased geographical mobility.
  • welfare state made nuclear families more self reliant.
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McGlone et al.

Extended kin outside the nuclear family are still important as they can:

  • advice
  • financial help
  • assistance with childcare
  • emotional support.
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Giddens

Plastic sexuality- sex is for pleasure rather than for the survival of the human race. Relationships are no longer permanant.

Marriage is now based on confluent love. Both partners need to benefit.

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Beck and Beck Gernsheim

Individualisation is the main characteristic of modern life. This due to:

  • More oppurtunities for individual.
  • Little security or intimacy in the world of work.
  • Conflict due to a surplus of choice.
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Judith Stacey

  • Studied families in the Silicon Valley.
  • In the post modern era, the family 'is diverse, fluid and unresolved.'
  • Gay/Lesbian families or 'chosen families.'
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Pam and Dotty

1950s-married manual workers and worked their way up to middle class jobs.

They did unskilled manual work.

1970s- Pam and Dotty met and were exposed to feminist movements. This led to them both being unhappy with the contribution of their husbands.

Pam got divorced and did a degree. Formed and unusual kinship network.

Dotty split up with her husband ,but took him back. Husband had to do housework. 

After some of her family died, Dotty formed a new household. 

DEMONSTRATES DIVERSITY AND FLUIDITY OF THE FAMILY IN SILICON VALLEY.

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Charles Murray

  • Murray argues an underclass has developed which has developed from an overly generous welfare state.
  • SPFs are harmful to societies because it encourages irresponsible behaviour.
  • Parents are role models.
  • No positive male role model that is hard working ,therefore they copy the mother.
  • Have children outside of "wedlock" and tend to have children early.
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Eileen Drew

Feminist research on social policy.

Social Policies follow two gender regimes:

  • Familistic gender regimes are social policies which support the traditional nuclear family and try to preserve it. The husband is meant to be the 'breadwinner', whilst the wife is meant to be the 'homemaker'- domesticated roles!
  • Individualistic gender regimes- egalitarian policies which promote equality between family types. More tolerant of choices outside the traditional nuclear family.
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Name 3 policies that support traditional families.

  • School hours which make it harder for dual-earner families.
  • Child support.
  • Harding- Housing policies state that nuclear families should get priority over SPFs when looking for a home.
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What are the five types of diversity according to

  • Organisational diversity- Involves different variations in household and conjugal roles.
  • Cultural diversity- Different families have different ethnic, national or religious backgrounds.
  • Class Diversity- Families based on middle, lower or upper class structure.
  • Stages in the life cycle.
  • Cohort.
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Allan and Crow

Allan and crow argue there are several reasons for the diversification of the family. 

These reasons include:

  • Rising divorce rate.
  • Increase in LPFs
  • Cohabitation is more acceptable due to secularisation. REF: BELIEFS IN SOCIETY.
  • Rise in step families.
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Roseneil - why is there an increase of Chosen Fami

  • The break down of the heteronorm.
  • This is the belief that all intimate relationship shoud be based on heterosexuality.
  • REF: Simpsons, Friends and Will and Grace.
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Why is there a growth of SPFs?

  • Increase in divorce.
  • Rise in illegitimate births.
  • Morgan- Females have greater equality and more oppurtunities ,so they can are more independent.
  • Morgan argues there is less stigma placed on illegitimacy.
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Effects of LPFs

  • Greater chance of living in poverty.
  • Children doing less well in education.
  • Children more likely to become delinquents.
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Ethnicity and family diversity

Bhatti used in depth interviews of Asian families which highlighted several aspects of Asian family life:

  • Strong emphasis on faily loyalty and tradition.
  • Izzat (the principle of family honour) was taken very seriously.
  • Stayed strong to the nuclear family. 
  • Strong kinship network and a tsrong sense of multual obligation.
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Dench, Gavron and Young

Carried out a study in Bethnal Green in the 1990s to followed up Young and Willmott's study in the 1950s. 

Nuclear families had been replaced with more modern types of family. These types of families include: LPFs, conhabitation, divorce and seperation. 

They concluded that the change in family types was to do with individualism.

Only the local Bangaledeshi had a dominant pattern of a conventional family which was bsed on conjugal roles.

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Robert Chester- neo conventional family.

Chester refutes the idea that the nuclear family is disappearing for several reasons:

  • Most people still get married.
  • Most children are reared by their natural parents.
  • Most people live in a household created by a married couple.
  • Most people remain married.
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Divorce laws

  • Law before 1857- Divorce was only accessible through parliament. This led to divorce being too expensive and only suitable for the upper class.
  • 1857- Matrimonal Causes Act- Divorce could be applied for on the grounds of adultery. Became cheaper to obtain.
  • 1950 Divorce Law- Grounds for divorce now include cruelty and dissertion. Still based on blaming the other spouse.
  • 1971 Divorce Reform Act- Main grounds for divorce was bsed on 'irretrievable breakdown.' This made it much easier to obtain divorce without blame.
  • 1984 Divorce law- Reduced time berfore a divorce petition could take place. It went from three years to one. This made it quicker to get a divorce.
  • 1996 Family Law Act- Only had to state that the marrriage was beyond revival. A 'cool down' period was introduced. The use of mediation was encouraged. Aimed to increase the stability of marriage ,but ended up making divorce easier.
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Parsons- Life cycle

He saw people passing through distinct stages:

  • Childhood is a period in which socialisation takes place.
  • Adolescene is where children try and gain independence from their parents, therefore they can shift their loyalty from their parents to their partner.
  • Old age is characterised by the loss of important social roles.
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Pilcher- life course

There is no universal life cycle because:

  • Not everyone passes through the same stages.
  • Ageing is different in societies.

Therefore, we should use the term life course. 

" A socially defined timetable of behaviours deemed appropiate for particular life stages within any one society."

It is effected by life expectancy.

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Hockey and James- Age as a social construction

Tried to find evidence as age categories as a social construction.

The media portrays a stereotypical image of old age which links to them being treated a children.Old age is infantilised

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Postmodernism- Featherstone and Hepworth

The life course has been deconstructed. 

Stages of the life cycle have become less distinct. For example:

  • children and adults dress similarly. 
  • Exposure to the mass media.
  • Older people are more healthy.

Personal age is more important than chronological age.

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Bott

Distinguishes between joint conjugal roles and segregated conjugal roles.

Joint conjugal roles are jobs that are fluid between a man and a woman and their is a minimum of task perferences or stereotypes.

Examples of this include men doing this are: men cooking, cleaning and doing childcare.

Segregated conjugal roles are where the tasks preformed by men and woman are fixed and not fluid. They tend to follow the stereotypical roles of 'homemaker and breadwinner.'

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Anne Oakley

Oakley interviewed 40 housewives in London. She found that women wanted men to be men. Women carried out the majority of household tasks. Women carried out the majority of household tasks.

Oakley Criticises Willmott and Young's methodology. 72% of men who helped in the home "just helped." This is supported by the BSA survey who found the similar rate. IRR.

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Name 3 reasons why the Nuclear Family has become m

  • Improved living- Technology has increased the appeal of staying at home.
  • Less pressure on gender role or gender norms.
  • Women working REF: SUE SHARPE
  • Commercialisation of housework. Hoover.
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Support for Willmott and Young's ideas

Gershuny

  • Looked at Canada and EU. Men are doing more domestic tasks especially where there was 'lagged adaptation.' However, females still do more.

Crompton

  • Men's slightly increased role in housework is not a result of increased cultural change, but is a economical neccessity.

Silver and Shor

  • Burden of housework has decreased which means the housewife role is dead. 
  • Commercialisation of homework.
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What is the Dual Burden ?

paid work and unpaid work.

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Ferri and Smith

Father took responsibilty for the cjildcare 4% of the time which was based on a sample of

1589 33 year olds. 

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Morris

Men who became unemployed saw housework as a "woman's task."

Xavier Ramos

When the man stays at home and the woman works, they do the same amount of work.

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Edgell

  • 1980
  • Found that important decisions were usually made by the husband. These included: finance, moving house or changing job.
  • Decisions involving the children were made by the wife and man.
  • Less important decisions made by the man. 

SUPPORTS THE WIFE HAVING LESS POWER.

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Hardills

  • 30 Dual-Career couples.
  • Decisions took by the man or jointly.
  • Man's career priority.
  • eg. New house.
  • eg. New job.

THIS SHOWS THE MAN HAS PRIORITY IN THE DECISION MAKING AND CAN OVERRULE.

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Pahl and Vogler

  • Growing individualisation in couple finance.
  • No longer dependent. 
  • 4 in 10 part time men earnt 15% more than females.
  • Men earn more, but women pay for children.

MALES HAVE MORE BARGAINING POWER.

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How many assaults each year according to Blacks?

6.6 Million

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Dobash and Dobash

Scotland research based on Interviews or Court records with women.

Got put in womens' refuge camps which is caused by the husband's authority.

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Boulton

  • Even when men help with the childcare, is it still women who do the majority.
  • They have to prioritise it over other aspects of their life.
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Duncombe and Marsden

They believe women prefrom a triple shift.

The triple shift is paid work, emotional work and domestic work.

Interviewed 40 couples.

Women dissatified with partners imput.

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Laurie and Gershuny

When they conducted their study, they used data from the British Household Panel Survey.

It showed movement away from the housekeeping allowance system which led to the male dominance in the home.

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Erin Pizzey

  • Domestic violence is resulting from patriarchy.
  • Use violence to controll females.
  • Legitimised by the illusion of patriarchal values.

Brookman furthers this it is the nature of masculinity that causes domestic violence. This means men can resort to it if they feel like they are loosing controll of men.

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Prout and James

Compared adulthood and childhood.

Adulthood was characterised by: moral, social, complex.

Chldhood was characterised by: Simple ,nature, immoral.

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Pilcher- social constructed childhood.

Childhood is a social construction.

Samoan children are expected to take part in physical or dangerous work.

Tikopia children are not expected to boey adults.

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Aries

  • Childhood is a social construction.
  • In medieval times, concept of childhood did not exist.
  • Age was not considered important.
  • Children often died before reaching adulthood.
  • Mourning was kept to a minimum.
  • Few specialist clothes.
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Aries

  • Childhood is a social construction.
  • In medieval times, concept of childhood did not exist.
  • Age was not considered important.
  • Children often died before reaching adulthood.
  • Mourning was kept to a minimum.
  • Few specialist clothes.
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Shorter

  • Links the development of childhood to motherhood.
  • In the 18th century, Mum's used to leave their babies to cry.
  • Attitudes started chaning mid 18th century because the idea of romantic love was developed, based on successful socialisation and ideas on how to raise children started to circulate.
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Explanations of childhood

Postman

  • Explanation of childhood lays in a technological age. 
  • Learning to read and write 
  • Seperation of children and adults.

Jane Pilcher

  • Legislation help distinguish adults and children.
  • Factory Law Act.
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Jenks

Dionsyian Image of the Child

  • Children naturally pursue their own pleasure which can lead to them acting in evil ways.
  • Require guidance.
  • Little care for children.

Appollonian Image of the Child

  • Chilrdren are born good, but it needs to be coaxed out of them. Resulted in the idea of the of child centeredness and protection from dangers.
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Jenks - Childhood and Postmodernity

Jenks believed that postmodern childhood has developed.

People no longer have a secure sense of identity. 

Family life in insecure with frequent divorce.

Children are the only primary relationship.

Intensifies the sense that children need to be protected.

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Postman- disppearance of childhood.

Distinction between childhood/adulthood has been eroded.

He explains the disappearnace in the following ways:

  • Growth of media.
  • Children dress more like adults.
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Evans and Chandler

Strong peer pressure amongst children to get adults to buy latest goods.

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Jenks- childhood is distinct.

Jenks argues that is still a distinct definition of childhood. There are still laws which protect children:

  • Cannot drink until 18.
  • Stay in education till 18.
  • Cannot have sex until 16.
  • Agree or refuse medical treatment at any time.
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Berry Mayall

Mayall believes that views on childhood are adultist.

Ignores the free will children have to think for themselves.

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Birth Rate

the number of births per 1000 of the population

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Fertility Rate

Number of live births per 1000 of women aged 15-44 years.

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Death Rate

the number of deaths per 1000 of the population.

  • In 1976, the IMR was 14.5, whilst in 2007 the IMR was 4.8.

Reasons

  • developments in medicene. However, McKeown suggested it was nutrition rather than vaccinations.
  • Rowntree stated their was a decline in 'absolute poverty.'
  • Increased medical care.
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Migration

number of people entering a country and the amount of people leaving the country.

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Net Migration

Difference between those entering a country and leaving a country.

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Decline in the birth rate and fertility rate

  • In 2008, there were 790,000 live births in the UK
  • The fertility rate rose to 1.94 in 2009.

Reasons

  • Changes in gender roles. (Abortion and Gender Roles)
  • Decrease in IMR less need to have kids.
  • Children can no longer be exploted for money and now are an economic burden.
  • Less stigma attached to not having kids.
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Migration

  • In the 1950s, migration in the UK increased.
  • 6% of citizens were old commonwealth.

Reasons

  • Legislation- closes or opens boundaries. 
  • Globalisation
  • Push and Pull factors.
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Ageing Population

  • By 2023, 23% of the population will be over 65.
  • Median age will rise from 35 to 42 years.

Reasons

  • Death Rate declining.
  • Falling fertility rate.

Consequences

  • The dependency ratio
  • Effects on families
  • Government spending.
  • Social Problems
  • ******* and Harvey- disengagment of older people from society is beneficial.
  • Hockey and James argue that they can still work.
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